Easter is on the horizon! However, since stores are rather overzealous about setting up for the next holiday before the current holiday is even over, I’ve had a bag of white Cadbury Mini Eggs in my pantry for over a month now. Well, last week, I finally figured out what to do with them. Say hello to festive, effortless Bird’s Nest Mini Oreo Cheesecakes!

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Years ago, when I was throwing lots of bridal and baby showers and didn’t yet have kids myself, I discovered Paula Deen’s recipe for Mini Cream Cheese Tarts, which were basically little cheesecakes baked in a muffin pan using whole Nilla Wafer cookies as the individual crusts. I typically baked them in my mini muffin pans, using mini Nilla Wafers, and then prettied them up with drizzled chocolate, fresh raspberries, and mint leaves. I thought I was pretty fancy, y’all…ooo la la.

For some reason, I hadn’t thought about or made that recipe in years. But it popped into my head when I was pondering my bag of mini eggs last week. And while I didn’t have any Nilla Wafers on hand, I did have a box of chocolate sandwich cookies, so I decided to give my cheesecakes an Oreo twist!

I chopped up half a dozen cookies to incorporate into my cheesecake filling, which I adapted a bit from Paula’s original recipe. Then I lined each muffin cup with a liner and plopped an Oreo (actually, my cookies were 365 brand, but same difference) into the bottom of each one. I poured my filling on top, baked ’em until puffy, and then allowed them to completely cool (during which time they deflated, as expected, thereby creating the perfect indentation for my impending decorations).

I had my eggs at the ready but I still needed something for my birds’ nests. I decided on chocolate shavings, so as not to deviate too far from my chocolatey cheesecake theme. Alas, my skills are pitifully pitiful when it comes to shaving chocolate, so instead, I finely chopped a bar of milk chocolate into long shards. To-may-to, to-mah-to.

And the result is these cute, fun, Bird’s Nest Mini Oreo Cheesecakes! They are SO easy to make, y’all — remember, the crust involves an already-made, store-bought cookie and the filling takes a matter of minutes to whip up. And — as one would expect when cheesecake and Oreos and chocolate are involved — they are quite yummy. How perfect would these be as an Easter dessert? Although they’d actually be great for any spring occasion or celebration…parties, showers, classmate or teacher treats, you name it!

It doesn’t get much easier than muffin pan cheesecakes, and it doesn’t get much tastier than jazzing them up with Oreos! But don’t think this recipe is only reserved for springtime or Easter…you can make these any time of year and enjoy them unadorned. Or you could even decorate them for other holidays. So whenever you have a chance to try them — whether it be March, April, October, or December — I hope they’re a hit!

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Prepare muffin pans by lining 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Lay an Oreo in the bottom of each lined muffin cup. Chop the remaining 6 Oreos and set aside.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese until smooth. Blend in the sour cream and beat until fluffy. Add the sugar, vanilla, and one egg at a time; beat until well blended, scraping the bowl as needed. Fold in the chopped Oreos.

Evenly divide the cheesecake mixture between the 18 prepared muffin cups. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the cheesecakes are puffed up and set in the middle. Allow the cheesecakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove them to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Refrigerate them for several hours before removing the paper liners (which will help prevent the cheesecake from sticking to the liners).

Before serving, sprinkle each cheesecake with shavings/shards of chocolate (to resemble a bird's nest) and place two candy-coated chocolate eggs on top. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Notes

I like to chop the Oreos so that some are finely chopped and some are coarsely chopped, because I prefer having little pieces of cookie distributed through the cheesecake with some bigger chunks as well.

It's okay to decorate the cheesecake several hours or up to a day ahead of time. But if you decorate them too far ahead of time, the candy-coated chocolate eggs will attract condensation in the refrigerator and the coating will start to break down.

https://fivehearthome.com ~ All recipes and images on Five Heart Home are copyright protected. Please do not use without my permission. If you would like to feature this recipe, please rewrite the directions in your own words and give proper attribution by linking back to this blog.

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Hi, I’m Samantha . . .

a busy wife and tired mama of two energetic boys and a sweet little girl living in Texas. I love cooking, writing, eating queso, watching college football, and taking way too many pics of my kids. In my “spare” time, I run this food blog and I wrote a cookbook. The days are crazy but the love is plenty between the five hearts that make up our home! (click for more)